Epilepsy Monitoring Unit interview

[2ndChance]

Hello, all.

I have an interview for a PT job in an EMU and am wondering if any of you out there work or have worked specifically for an EMU. I have done several different kinds of nursing, including neuro, but never specifically epilepsy. I have actually had epilepsy since I was 11 and have very good sz control with only one medication. I have always had an interest in working with epileptic patients, but would love some input on what a typical day may be like, how many patients to expect, etc.

I have not been at the beside for several years, but I sent in my application and was able to get an interview. Wish me luck!

Thanks for your time.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I've never heard of a unit that was exclusively for epilepsy monitoring. I worked on a neuro floor that included several (6) epilepsy monitoring beds but it wasn't the whole or the majority of the unit by any means.

Patients are there for any number of reasons. The majority are elective admissions. The patients may be in for pre-surgical evaluations to see if they have a seizure focus and are candidates for epilepsy surgery or they may be experiencing new events and may be admitted to try to catch one to see if it's a new kind of seizure.

Patients are typically hooked up to EEG 24/7 and on video. Some of them may be off meds to try to provoke seizure activity. If your patients aren't actively seizing, these patients are relatively low acuity. We used to only do VS once/shift on these patients. If they are seizing, you could spend your whole shift in one room.

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

We have an 8 bed unit for this. Often patients are here s/p brain surgey (crani) or after phase 2 or 3 electrode implantation for continuous seizure monitoring. This unit is not tele monitored so the patients there are usually stable. Rapid responses from there are usually seizures or code greys. The nurses are really nice and it seems laid back there when I send patients there. Not sure about ratio though. No more than 4 patients because they need 2 nurses and max 8 patient unit. Hope this helps!